HD Homerun setup question

[bmcraig]

I currently have SageTV6.0 running on one computer. I have two MVPs runnign on two TVs. My house is networked with plenty of ethernet ports. If I get a HD Homerun and plug it in to the network, how does SageTV 6.0 find it as an extra video source? Is this something it does automatically, or do I have to install plug ins, etc. for it to find it?

Thanks,
Brent

[salsbst]

The HDHR setup modifies the SageTV properties file for you: http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdho...s/sagetv_cable

[Diginerd]

Just a reminder the MVPs don't like HD streams, so your server would have to transcode them on the fly. That requires a significantly beefy serve. My Dual 2.4GHz Xeon box doesn't cut it.. :-/ YMMV.

[bmcraig]

Thanks. I was wanting to get this to record some HD shows for my HD TV, which is hooked up to a computer. From other posts, I assume my best bet it just to record two favorites of a show, if I want to have a SD recording for my SD TVs.

Brent

Originally Posted by Diginerd

Just a reminder the MVPs don't like HD streams, so your server would have to transcode them on the fly. That requires a significantly beefy serve. My Dual 2.4GHz Xeon box doesn't cut it.. :-/ YMMV.

[doublebogey]

Originally Posted by salsbst

The HDHR setup modifies the SageTV properties file for you: http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdho...s/sagetv_cable

I'm just kind of jumping in here so I hope no one minds. I should be receiving my HDHomerun in the next couple of days. Can I assume that I can plug it into any ethernet port on the network, but to configure it with sage, I should install the homerun's software on the same PC I'm running sage from?

Thanks in advance.

Phil

[blade]

Originally Posted by doublebogey

Can I assume that I can plug it into any ethernet port on the network, but to configure it with sage, I should install the homerun's software on the same PC I'm running sage from?

Yes, it runs on your Sage server. Basically the SageTV Manager will run on the server all the time. The config gui is only needed for setup and upgrading firmware and can be run on any machine on your network.

[heffe2001]

I'll 2nd this, my 2.8 dual Xeon isn't beefy enough to transcode HD on the fly either. I had the system set up to down-convert HD to regular mpg, and it still looked 100x better than my SD recordings, and the mvp would play it. Just too much hassle. Soon as the HD extender box comes out, I'm dumping the MVP's and replacing them with the new boxes...

Originally Posted by Diginerd

Just a reminder the MVPs don't like HD streams, so your server would have to transcode them on the fly. That requires a significantly beefy serve. My Dual 2.4GHz Xeon box doesn't cut it.. :-/ YMMV.

[zoso]

Originally Posted by heffe2001

I'll 2nd this, my 2.8 dual Xeon isn't beefy enough to transcode HD on the fly either. I had the system set up to down-convert HD to regular mpg, and it still looked 100x better than my SD recordings, and the mvp would play it. Just too much hassle. Soon as the HD extender box comes out, I'm dumping the MVP's and replacing them with the new boxes...

A C2D running 2.66 (maybe less) will handle the HD stream transcode. My qx6700 can transcode 2 (haven't tried 3 or 4 yet) HD streams to seperate MVPs with out a stutter.

[bmcraig]

Phil, can you (or someone else) provide a link where I can buy one? I have had trouble finding it. Thanks.

Brent

Originally Posted by doublebogey

I'm just kind of jumping in here so I hope no one minds. I should be receiving my HDHomerun in the next couple of days. Can I assume that I can plug it into any ethernet port on the network, but to configure it with sage, I should install the homerun's software on the same PC I'm running sage from?

Thanks in advance.

Phil

[blade]

Originally Posted by bmcraig

Phil, can you (or someone else) provide a link where I can buy one? I have had trouble finding it. Thanks.

Brent

As far as I know you can only purchase them here.

[doublebogey]

Originally Posted by blade

As far as I know you can only purchase them here.

Yep. That's where I purchased mine from. Should be receiving it today.

[rtwhbw]

I am looking to change my set up for Sagev6. I am purchasing a new cpu with a better graphics card and would like to do the following:

I want to have OTA HD locals recorded thru Sage on the HDHomerun and then have SD directv channels recorded on old WIntv150. Will I be able to have sage use one turner for locals and a OTA antenna and use directv receiver for other channels.

In typing, I am wondering how I will be able to tune from say ESPN to local channel 5.1, i guess sage will know what turner to get that source from?

Thanks Rusty

[garyellis]

Sage knows which tuner to use...Remember the HDHR does not get analog channels...So, ESPN would not come through the HDHR, but would have to come through a non HD tuner. Sage does a good job of managing that. My system always assigns any recording to the HD channels, if its in the program guide for HD and if not, then it assigns it to Analog channels. I heard some people had problems with this, not sure why mine worked right the first time..

Gary Ellis

[rtwhbw]

Gary

This may seem like a stupid question, but here goes. If HD channels come in 5.1 etc, how does sage know that it is available. I am also getting the locals over directv and will have to leave that on, so will I get local HD 5.1 on another channel? Will it be provided on say 68 (of some other number)?

Thanks
Rusty

[garyellis]

I believe you are now into the whole process of mapping the channels..Let me try to tell you how I did it...(There may be other ways...)

Run the program called HDHR config (GUI)...

I am assuming that you have loaded the latest firmware, if not, do that.

click the first drop down for channel and select QAM

now start increasing the number in the second channel drop down (you can click scan or just increase the number.)
.
increase this slowly giving the tuner time to find any signal. The first signals you will find are probably in the 70 to 80 range.

Eventually you will find a signal, indicated by the signal strength bars, but more important you will see some data pop up in the program space.

Important here (I missed it the first time)...notice the drop down arrow on the "program" space. Make sure you click on this. You may have as many as 10 channels in that space. The first one may say something like "2,0,0 (Encrypted), but there may be many others below that that are non encrypted.

when I found the first one that did not say "encrypted", I launched the VLC which showed the video.

Now here is the important part....start creating a list of what you find. You should write down the description...like for me "WRAL 5.1" is the channel description (most have that in the program space)..then next to that write the channel number from above, i.e., "85" and write the number from the program space next to the channel description,i.e, "1"

example: WRAL 5.1 85-1 <---this is how you map the channels in Sage

continue through all channels until you have found everything you want, remembering to click the drop down on each channel found. You will find channels that you can't even determine what they are. I found several that my cable company doesn't show in their program guide. (still trying to figure out what to do with those)

when you have finished, hopefully you will have a long list of unencrypted channels.

Now you go to Sage > Setup > Detailed Setup > Set up Video Source

Click on one of the HDHR tuners ..Ensure that the EPG lineup is what you want. (The one that gives you an EPG for the HD channels available from your provider)

Click on channel set up...find the channel that you want to assign any HD channel to. (Obviously pick the channel that has the EPG that matches the channel that you found,i.e., "WRAL 5.1 HD"

Click on "Remap" and click on "Map to different Physical Channel number"
type in the 2 numbers you found for this channel separated by a dash "-"

example: 85-1 press enter ...notice the numbers you just typed show up next to the description. Remember to enable the channel by clicking on it .

When you are finished mapping channels, go to "done with channel set up"


and you are done...

I need to figure out what to do with extra channels I found...I know I can put any other city EPG for one of the tuners, if I can find the extra channels on their EPG..so, that's what I am trying to figure out next.

Good Luck,

Gary Ellis

[Polypro]

Just an FYI: If you use the command line scanner, it goes *a lot* quicker.

P

[doublebogey]

Originally Posted by Polypro

Just an FYI: If you use the command line scanner, it goes *a lot* quicker.

P

I ran into an interesting situation after mapping my channels that maybe you can help with. After doing the scan, and picking my digital cable lineup, I associated and remapped my QAM channels with the HDHomerun. I made sure that only those channels were enabled with the HDHomerun (channels 200-206).

I also used the same digital cable lineup (with a different zip) for my Plextor, which is connected via S-video. I made sure that only channels 300 and above were enabled for the Plextor.

After this was done, I went back and tested. I tuned into channel 200... which should have been only on the HDHomerun, yet the Plextor changed the channels on the cable box... so I got that tuner instead. I'm switching cable providers this weekend, so I'll need to recreate my lineups, but I'm wondering how to avoid this.

I hope this makes sense.... but can anyone provide some insight?

Thanks,

Phil